Preamble to the United States Constitution

Detail of the official handwritten copy of the Preamble, engrossed by Jacob Shallus
Preamble detail from a Dunlap & Claypoole original printing of the United States Constitution, 1787

The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the US Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of the Founding Fathers' intentions regarding the Constitution's meaning and what they hoped the Constitution would achieve.

The preamble was mainly written by Gouverneur Morris, a Pennsylvania delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.


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